Photographer David Abram takes to the skies to capture the gasping beauty of ancient sites in Britain in his new book, Aerial Atlas of Ancient Britain
The British Isles are dotted with ancient sites – places where our ancestors, from the Neolithic period to just before the Roman conquest, built homes, forts, shrines and other religious structures, graveyards and monuments at whose purpose we can only guess. Yet really grasping the scale and beauty of the stone remnants and carved patterns that remain is often challenging at ground level. For photographer David Abram there was only one solution – to employ drone technology and reveal the true magnificence of these sites from the air.
‘I think our ancestors wanted them to be seen from the air,’ says Abram, ‘certainly the Neolithic ones, because I believe that a lot of Neolithic monuments were about connecting what was above the ground with what’s below. They thought deeply about the ground, the earth that we walk on.’
For Abram, whose new book, Aerial Atlas of Ancient Britain, brings together his best images of prehistoric sites, along with information about each one, the real joy of his work lies in being able to connect our scientific, archaeological knowledge, with this more speculative, emotional response to such landmarks – a perspective that offers a glimpse into the lives of ancient people. ‘I’m not a great believer in ley lines and magnetic energies and all that kind of thing,’ he says. ‘But I definitely do think that places have a particular kind of impact on the mind and the body. I know, after having gone to hundreds of sites, that our ancestors knew that very well. And that’s partly why they positioned these sites where they did.’
Abram believes that it’s vitally important that we don’t forget the incredible history that lies so plentifully beneath our feet. ‘You can find these gateways to another world that you think has disappeared,’ he says. ‘But they’re disappearing out of our consciousness – because they exist on land that is inaccessible; because they are not deemed of worth or value; because even though they might be scheduled, their presence is not advertised; and because they might not even look that spectacular from the ground. In a sense, my pictures are an antidote to all that, because they are rendering them visible. They’re restoring some value to them by showing people how amazing they are.’
Insights from David Abram
My Purpose:
‘The purpose of my photography is to restore the value in these places – to draw attention to them and thereby help to protect them for future generations. Because for every Stonehenge there are hundreds of thousands of sites that are completely neglected and are being damaged.’
My Inspiration:
‘Throughout most of my life I’ve referenced other people. I’ve always learned my craft by reading other travel writers carefully, but with this thing, I know what I need to do and I’m just getting on with it. The only photographer who inspires me now is Ed Burtinsky, whose work absolutely thrills me.’
My Advice:
‘Make sure that you do a training course before using drones. Get properly trained, respect the law and other people’s privacy and safety. Then, once you’ve worked out how to fly it, don’t just randomly go around taking the same pictures as everyone else. Don’t go to Old Harry Rocks, don’t fly in the middle of London. Think about what you could do that no one else could.’
Find David on Instagram: @davidrabram
